Let’s do some review from previous lessons so that we can truly understand the message of the Bible. The book of Malachi ended with a prophecy, behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers. Then we had 400 silent years.
It’s hard for us to imagine 400 silent years in our time. We can’t handle waiting 5 minutes in silence. The United States is only 400 years old and that’s if you go back to when Europeans first set foot on the North American continent escaping religious persecution settling Plymouth Rock.
400 years is a long time with no prophetic voice, and it was John the Baptist who was the fulfillment of this prophecy in Malachi. We know that John’s father Zechariah was of the lineage of Aaron, so John was by birth part of the priesthood. We know nothing of his upbringing, but normally one of the priestly line would be raised with a deep knowledge of the Torah, its ceremonies and practices of the Temple.
We have 400 silent years then we see this Prophet appear preaching in the wilderness of Judea, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord make his paths straight.”
Now John wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. John didn’t have the high priestly attire like his father, but he was this eccentric man preaching a message of repentance in the wilderness and confronting the religious leaders of his day. The spirit and power of Elijah was upon him.
The people saw in John a true prophet, but the religious leaders of the day saw in John a real threat to their power.
He didn’t come from their schools, was not invited to their ministry meetings and didn’t agree with the system they had built to basically manipulate and control the Children of Israel. He had a simple message unlike the complicated religious rules of the Pharisees: John’s message was repent and be baptized for the remission of sins.
The prophetic ministry of John was a wrecking ball on the religious and political systems the Pharisees and Sadducees had built. It was a system built to serve themselves at the expense of the people. John did not mince words with the Pharisees and Sadducees. He called them a brood of vipers or snakes fleeing the burning of a field. The Pharisees and Sadducees could see that John’s success in calling people to repentance, baptism and preparing them for a Messiah would be the end of their power. They could feel the ground moving underneath them because John’s message exposed them as being illegitimate leaders.
John’s preaching showed the people that they had been living a lie under the bondage of a system built by man and not by God.
The New Testament opens up laying out the context of the Messianic age which was brought about through the birth of Jesus Christ the fulfillment of all that was written concerning the Messiah in the Law, Psalms and Prophets. It was about to get real interesting because Jesus, John’s cousin, came to him in the wilderness to be baptized.
In the fullness of times God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the Law, to the nation of Israel, to fulfill His prophetic promise. Jesus Christ, the fulfillment of all that the Old Covenant foretold of the Messiah was now being revealed to Israel. When John looked up as a Prophet, he did not see the man he had grown up with coming to him, but as recorded in John chapter 1 verse 3 he said, behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! John prophesied the true intent of Jesus' mission and that was the fulfillment of John’s prophetic ministry. John was brought into this earth to be the last Old Covenant prophet and fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah 40 of being the preparer of the way for God himself who came wrapped in human flesh to step into time and fulfill all that was written in the Law, Psalms and Prophets.
Jesus was the fulfillment of what the Prophet, Priest and King was to be. He was immersed in water and upon his raising was then empowered by the Spirit to fulfill his 3 1/2-year ministry. Jesus fulfilled over 332 distinct prophecies. Now the prophecy of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53 was one of the most misunderstood prophecies, yet it is the one that most graphically displays the purpose of why the Messiah came. The people of Israel had been under the heal of the Roman’s power and the Zealots fought them, the Essences just hid, the Pharisees tolerated them and the Sadducees embraced Rome’s rule.
The vast majority of the people were anticipating a coming kingdom of God where they would be free from Rome’s authority and be ruled by God. It’s the message that John was sent to preach. Jesus like John taught the message of the kingdom of God, and it was a message that leveled the playing field. His message destroyed the power structure. He was a man of the people who walked among the common man. Religion, politics, along with those who trusted in their wealth and power were challenged through the message of the kingdom. Jesus taught in most of his parables about the kingdom of God. But the one thing that the teachers of Israel failed to understand was that the Messiah first had to suffer as the 'Lamb of God' before He could deliver them from their enemies and judge the nations.
The Pharisees knew the scriptures, but could not see the truth. The Pharisees didn’t have the spiritual insight to understand their times.
Prophecy can be complex. As I have said in previous lessons, prophecy is like an onion that you peel off in layers. Interpreting prophecy is not easy just go read the prophetic scriptures culminating with the book of Revelation. Tread lightly because when you think you have it figured out, you might find yourself on the wrong side like the Pharisees. Prophecy is many times an enigma and it’s meant to be. It is mysterious, puzzling and many times difficult to understand so you have to walk by faith. You have to be careful with prophecy because it’s in God's hand and he brings it to pass. His ways are not our ways therefore humility of heart is a necessity to truly understand.
The main thing that blinded the Pharisees was their spiritual pride. They were the expert interpreters of the law and as far as they were concerned their views were God’s view. God as usually had other plans. Walk lightly with prophecy and be flexible because you are moving with the winds of the Spirit. I say this because I know people who think they have our present times all figured out and can give you charts on everything that is going to happen in regard to Jesus' second coming. All I will say is the Pharisees probably had their own charts and they completely missed the Messiah. What the Pharisees could not understand was that Jesus as the final fulfillment of the 'seed of the woman' did deliver Israel and the world, but not the way that they thought he was supposed to.
The Sadducees and the Pharisees were mortal enemies, but they came into a agreement around the death of Jesus. The Sadducees embodied pure lawlessness and the Pharisees embodied pure legalism and the god of this age, the serpent of old used them and their lust for power to kill the king of the Jews.
What the serpent failed to understand was that it was through the death of the Lamb of God that his power was actually destroyed. It destroyed his power over not just the children of Abraham, but all humanity through the blood that poured out on the cross. Jesus coming was not to destroy the Roman government, but the government or power of sin. The prophecies concerning the Messiah ruling the earth won’t be fulfilled until Christ's Second Coming as foretold in Revelations 19:11-16, which will fulfill the prophecies of Isaiah 11:4 and Daniel 7:13-14, when Christ will rule as King of the earth after the resurrection from the dead.
Jesus was more than a prophet, he was more than a good man or even a martyr. Jesus was 'God manifested in the flesh' to take mankind's sin once and for all. As the 'seed of the woman' He came to redeem man by crushing the serpent's head with His bruised body. Jesus Christ fulfilled all that the prophets predicted concerning the Messiah and now by the grace He has given us, we can enter into His finished work on the cross.
As we partake of the grace shown to us through Christ's first coming', we need to expectantly look for the 'second coming' of Christ. This will be the final fulfillment of all the prophets spoke, when Christ will return to the earth, raise the dead and rule the nations as the 'King of kings'.
I’ve taught you in previous lessons that God is Spirit and through the resurrection of Christ we have been given the very same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead. It is the down payment and guarantee that just as Christ was physically raised from the dead and given a new body in like manner, we will be given new resurrection bodies at the time of his return. However, right now we are called to be representatives of Christ displaying his nature of love, forgiveness and impart blessings to others.
The Holy Spirit working through our lives gives us power to perform works of service and wisdom to implement the will of God. It’s the grace of God connecting us to the throne of the lamb in holistic worship dedicating our whole lives to Christ living through us. It’s the joining together of God’s space and man’s space - the intersection of the heavenly realm and the earthly realm. It’s the only way we can fulfill the original mandate given to man and fulfill our individual calling. It’s about being a part of the representative priesthood of Christ upon this earth.
As a part of the priesthood of Christ we are earthen vessels made of the dust of the ground, but through Christ resurrection and our identification with Him through the cross we have been given His power. The life-giving power of the Spirit lives within us.
The cruciform life is to be no longer us living, but us living our lives by faith working through love. In this school of discipleship, we have been covering in the last few lessons the foundational doctrines of our faith as laid out in Hebrews 6:1-2 and the cruciform life of following Christ by identifying with his death, burial, resurrection and ascension. We have covered repentance from dead works, faith towards God, the doctrine of baptisms and laying on of hands. In the last two lessons we started covering the subject of resurrection from the dead and then we will be wrapping up this section looking at eternal judgment. The last two foundational teachings are resurrection from the dead and eternal judgement. Both of these teachings are inextricably tied together and overlap in laying out the doctrine of last things.
The Messiah is understood to be the divine agent and he is the ultimate mediator of redemptive history. Since Adam as God’s representative in the garden chose disobedience and brought sin into the world so God had to redeem humanity bringing salvation through another man or as Paul called Jesus the Last Adam. So, the Messiah is the Savior. He is the alpha and the omega who will wrap up this current age with cleansing fire and a judgement that is just.
Peter in his epistle says it this way, “the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.”
It’s what the prophets called the ‘day of the Lord’ when God will execute true justice and judgement in the earth through his representative Messiah as the Judge (Acts 10: 42, 2 Tim. 4: 8, James 5: 9).
God has redeemed His creation through his representative Messiah as the Redeemer through the blood, water and Spirit. (Gal. 3: 13, Titus 2: 14, Heb. 9: 15). This synergy between God and the Messiah is seen throughout the New Testament, especially in relation to the ‘day of the Lord’, thus producing the phraseology of “the day of Christ” (Phil. 1: 10, 2: 16), “the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1: 6), and “the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 1: 8). Likewise, divine judgment, as in “the judgment seat of God” is understood to be administrated through the Messiah—that is, “the judgment seat of Christ” (2 Cor. 5: 10).
The age to come, therefore, will be a seamless collaboration to establish “the kingdom of Christ and God” (Eph. 5: 5), for “the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it and his servants will worship him” (Rev. 22: 3). In this way the Messiah or Christ is the divine agent in the mediation of redemptive history, understood as the 'last days'.
Peter declared on the day of Pentecost, that Jesus was exalted to the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing (Acts 2: 33). The gift of the Spirit was given to confirm the mediation of divine mercy in the cross before the mediation of divine judgment at “the great and glorious day of the Lord”. Therefore, Peter declares, repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. In other words, the Holy Spirit was poured out as a confirmation of the forgiveness of sins in light of the coming ‘day of the Lord’ and judgement at that time.
Upon Christ return to this earth human beings will be judged on this earth-by a human being!
During His life on earth, Jesus frequently claimed to have authority to decide the eternal destiny of nations and individuals (Matt. 7:21-23, 13:41-43, 25:30-33). Such a claim can only be explained in one of three ways — that He was mad, bad or God, lunatic, liar or Lord. Only if He was the God-Man, divine as well as human, is He perfectly qualified to be the Judge of all and we know that only he is qualified to open the seals of the coming judgment upon this earth as declared by John in the book of Revelation. Jesus Christ is the one appointed and anointed by God to execute the day of the Lord, raise the dead, judge the wicked and reward the righteous.
Peter summarizes the apostolic commissioning: God commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that Jesus is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead (Acts 10:42). Paul likewise concludes redemptive history in his preaching to the Athenians: God has set a day when he is going to judge the world in righteousness by the man he has appointed (Acts 17: 31). Jesus has lived in our circumstances, under our pressures, with our temptations, yet without sin. He knows us through and through and His judgment will be absolutely just.
In the age to come, however, the Messiah’s kingdom will include “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages” (Rev. 7: 9). Jesus will return to the city of Jerusalem just as he promised, and “by its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it” (Rev. 21: 24).
The multi-ethnic and multi-national nature of the kingdom is self-evident in most of the common messianic passages. In the last days, the Messiah “shall judge between the nations,” and thus “nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore” (Isa. 2: 4). In the day that he strikes the earth “with the rod of his mouth” (Isa. 11: 4), “the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious” (v. 10). For “The LORD will lay bare his holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth. We will see the salvation of our God” (Isa. 52: 10, NIV). Indeed, “Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising” (Isa. 60: 3). “All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD and all the families of the nations shall worship before him” (Ps. 22: 27, NRSV). For God has eternally decreed, “My name will be great among the nations, says the LORD of hosts” (Mal. 1: 11).
The prophetic book of Daniel in chapter 2 presents a series of transnational kingdoms throughout this present age (vv. 31–33), which incur divine judgment (v. 34) and which result in the final establishment of an eternal Messianic kingdom that fills and rules over “the whole earth” (v. 35). At the end of this age, “The God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever” (v. 44). Moreover, as Nebuchadnezzar was in his day “the” king of kings” (v. 37), ruling over a multiethnic kingdom, so also the Messiah will be hailed “the King of kings and Lord of lords” (1 Tim. 6: 15, Rev. 19: 16), ruling over a benevolent global empire.
Jesus is going to judge the nations and bring justice to the earth. As surely as the ancient scriptures speak of our forgiveness they equally speak of a coming time when all things will be restored including peace on earth.
The good news for those who believe is that we have been placed into Christ our redeemer and we have already been judged for sin. It’s why the gospel is good news! Our judgment for sin was placed upon our representative and he took our punishment along with the judgment that comes with sin. II Corinthians 5:21 says that “God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” This verse tells us that Christ is our substitute, accepting the judgement for our sin. We also see in I Peter 2:24 that Christ suffered the punishment our sins deserved along with its judgment and penalty.
The great prophet Isaiah said, “We ourselves esteemed Him (Christ) stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions” (Isaiah 53:4). In Christ, we have already been punished for all of our sins. Jesus, by the grace of God, did ‘taste death for everyone’ who receives Him as their substitute for sin. It was on the cross when Jesus tasted this death and cried out, ‘MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?’ At that moment Jesus endured the wrath of God’s judgment on sin. On the cross Jesus endured the penalty that we deserved (Matthew 27:46). Since God punished mankind’s sin through our representative, Jesus, we can be free from the fear of punishment as we put our faith in the work of Christ. When we see that God so loved us that He gave us Jesus to take our place as our sin substitute, we can allow love to cast out the fear of judgment (I John 4:18).
At the cross of Christ, God’s mercy has triumphed over judgment, and we can be free from the judgment of sin. As a result of our freedom, we can have open fellowship at the throne of grace being identified as a child of God and priest ministering before his throne. Since the sentence of sin has been paid for in Christ, we can have open fellowship with the Father (Jn. 5:24). The single most liberating truth in the believer’s life is this - judgment has already been passed on us. It is because God has already punished all sin in Jesus’ perfect sacrifice that He can be merciful to us sinners. God’s wrath against sin was fulfilled in Christ, and when we remain ‘in him’ through the fellowship of the blood, water and spirit we are free from judgment and have direct access to the Father (Heb. 10:19-22).
As we realize that the judgment for our sin has already happened in Christ, then it brings peace to our hearts which is the main ingredient of a lasting relationship with God, growing in the roots of His love (Eph. 3:17). There is no condemnation for us who are in Christ Jesus. John 5:24 says, “He who hears my word, and believes Him who sent me has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” Does this mean we can live anyway we want to and be eternally secure? No not at all because all people will be held accountable and judged for what they have done. The sin question is answered in Christ, but our works will be judged (Rom 2:6) both for the believer and non-believer.
The big question is what happens to those who don’t believe? Hebrews 9:27 says that it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment. Time is heading for the event when all of our works will be confronted, dealt with and judged accordingly for both the righteous and unrighteous. “That the unbelievers are to come up for judgment is necessitated by the very nature of the history of man, for many things have escaped judgment in this life. The character and deeds of the ungodly, which so often escape judgment during this life, will be accounted for at the coming ‘resurrection of condemnation’ (John 5:29).
N.T. Wright says that “judgment is necessary - unless we were to conclude, absurdly, that nothing much is wrong, or blasphemously, that God doesn't mind very much. In the justly famous phrase of Miroslav Volf, there must be 'exclusion' before there can be 'embrace': evil must be identified, named and dealt with before there can be reconciliation...”
The Bible is clear that all of mankind will be judged. God sends no man to hell which is a separation from God, they choose to go there of their own free will. Those who reject the free gift of salvation by faith in God’s provision bring self-inflicted judgment upon themselves and abide under the wrath of God (Jn. 3:36, Rom. 1:18) as a consequence of their active rejection of Him. Hell was never intended for man, but for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41). The Bible clearly teaches that hell is a place of punishment. Hell is a self-chosen and self-inflicted curse, the inevitable outcome of those who refuse to turn away from sin and evil practices (Matt. 5:29-30).
What great joy and rejoicing believers in Christ should have as they see that judgment for sin has already happened. This should give us such confidence before the Father to know that He is not out to get us, but out to love us.
With this understanding the fear of judgment should lose its grip over our minds as we see that we have not been destined for wrath, but for salvation in Christ. His blood has saved us, and we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him (Rom. 5:9). With this confidence in Christ, we should take this message of salvation to those hurting and living their lives under the judgment of God. We must preach this message of good news, that the unbeliever can receive eternal life, and we must warn them that unless they repent, they face a harsh judgment.
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Next Lesson: Lesson 22 - Run the Race to Win
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